Bahama Mission
May and June 2001
We have been in full Summer swing with all of the Vacation Bible Schools and
some short meetings in various Islands. The summer months have been very hot
as they have in most areas of the United States. It seems that age and a
lack of air-conditioning makes it harder than it was when I was young and
did not know about those "cooling machines".
I hope that most of you have been getting our e-mail updates during the past
few weeks. These will keep you current on activities on a regular basis. We
are most thankful to all of the special people in each of our supporting
congregations who get this information and make it available to others.
We are happy to announce that the film, "Bahama Mission-The Flying
Preacher", has been completed and is being distributed. We have sent out the
first 100 copies and have another 100 copies being made. If we have
overlooked you, please let us know and we will be happy to send your copy.
This is a communication tool designed to make you feel more a part of the
work that we do together. Steve and Victoria Fraaza, of Fraaza Films in
Beverly Hills, California, have done a great job. We are thankful for all of
the time, expense, and great talent. They had the film edited by Edwards
Post, who is most famous for his work on the Sesame Street series for
Television. The film is suitable for showing to congregations and smaller
groups, mission committees, and anyone who wants to know more about the
people whose lives are being touched by the Gospel because of your sacrifice
and concern.
Summer is a time for people in the Islands to travel and have vacations.
However we have had a number of baptisms in the past few weeks. Nine trips
have been made to the sea in the areas where we have been working and even
more in Freeport and Nassau.
Brother Finance is preaching for the Haitian congregation in Nassau. He is a
graduate of the Jamaica School of Preaching. He is doing a great job, but is
hampered by the need for some transportation. Cars in the Bahamas cost twice
what they do in the United States and fuel is about twice as much. We are
looking for a small, 4 cylinder, older model, that is in great shape. If
such a vehicle is donated, we will still have to pay shipping and duty which
will amount to about 100% of its value. At last count, he had baptized about
40 this year. If you have such a car that you would be willing to donate, we
would be happy to see that you get some tax credit.
Vacation Bible Schools in Cat Island and Abaco went well. Florida churches
from Ft. Lauderdale and Ft. Myers were involved with these. Also a
congregation in West Palm Beach worked with Freeport in their program. Harry
and Teresa Broadwell will soon complete the 10 weeks program in Long Island.
They have been working with the Church assisting Brother McDonald Burrows,
and doing VBS four nights a week. We brought their daughter, Katie, to
Florida to catch a plane to Harding in Arkansas last month. I know that they
miss the extra teacher.
Much of our time was spent in being a part of the support group for these
special efforts and hauling in the supplies that were used. Some of these
Islands are so isolated that it would be impossible to ship in materials and
expect them to arrive the same year they were needed.
We are very thankful to "On The Lamb" in Florida for all of the Bible Class
materials they have donated. They have been giving us at least 70 pounds of
new material each quarter that is new, but just out of date. A call last
week confirmed that they will also be sending left over VBS materials that
we can use next year. We are thankful to all who do so much to make our
total program a success.
On a personal note, the airplane is running well after repairs to the radio
and the replacement of wheels and tires. We will finish the annual
inspection next week if the weather in Florida will give us some sunshine.
Also , Dinah is delighted with the "john" which is now functioning in our
room in Abaco.
Lincoln Young is doing better now that he is seeing some improvement to his
quarters and the building. We have several evangelistic efforts planned for
Eleuthera before the end of the year and are scheduling efforts for next
Summer. Lincoln is in Memphis this week, speaking and encouraging volunteers
to come over and help.
We had elders visit from Ft. Myers and Ft. Lauderdale in the past few weeks.
I was able to fly them to several Islands to give them a better
understanding of our overall program in the various Islands. We hit some
bad weather with Brother Hursey and had to wait a while for it to clear so
we could find the runway in Abaco. His only comment was that he now fully
understood the passage, "...pray without ceasing...". Dinah and I work
mostly with the smaller congregations in the more primitive areas, though we
are always happy to visit the larger Churches on special occasions, and
rejoice at the progress made over the past 20 years.
I have spoken at several funerals lately, including a friend who died
suddenly at age 40. We are reminded of the brevity of life and the reason
for urgency in sharing Christ with those who do not know Him.
Thank you again for your support and dedication. Keep us in your prayers as
we strive to faithfully spearhead the effort that requires all of us to
plant and to wait for the Lord to give the increase.
Checks can be made to:
Bahama Mission Church of Christ and sent:
Attn: David Caskey Missions
Gulf Coast
Church of Christ
3825 McGregor Blvd.
Ft. Myers, Florida 33901
May the Lord continue to keep us safe and direct our steps as we labor
together in His Cause.
david
